Cannabis Oil and Medical Marijuana Treatments

Number One Resource For Medical Marijuana & Cannabis Oil Preparations

The medicinal use of cannabis oil is not a new phenomenon; historians suggest that the recipe for the anointing oil passed from God to Moses included cannabis, or kaneh-bosm in Hebrew. It is only recently that the cannabinoids found within the oil have been discovered to have anti-cancer possibilities in laboratory testing.

Cannabis was first listed in the 1851 (3rd edition) of the U.S. Pharmacopoeia and until prohibition was introduced cannabis was the primary treatment for over 100 separate illnesses and diseases.

There is an argument that even recreational users are to a certain extent self medicating with cannabis, as a means of relieving stress, stimulating appetite, regulating sleep patterns and improving their general outlook on life.

More than 20 American states have now legalized medical marijuana use despite currently only 6% of studies on cannabis designed to evaluate and analyze its medicinal properties.

Cannabis is often referred to by many different names including marijuana, ganja, weed or herb but regardless of how it is referred to cannabis is one of the safest medicines available today.

There has never been a single recorded fatality from cannabis use in thousands of years of human history. No one has ever died as a direct result of ingesting cannabis or indeed concentrated cannabis oil.

One estimate of a lethal dose for humans indicates that roughly 1500 pounds (680 kilograms) of cannabis would have to be smoked within 15 minutes (approx) and studies indicate that the effective dose of THC is at least 1000 times lower than the estimated lethal dose (therapeutic ratio of 1000:1).

Heroin has a therapeutic ratio of 6:1, alcohol and Valium 10:1. Cocaine 15:1. Aspirin has a therapeutic ratio of 20:1; twenty times the recommended dose (40 tablets) can cause death, and almost certainly induce extensive internal bleeding and serious injury.

Hugh Hempel is a technology industry veteran turned health care entrepreneur. In this moving talk he discusses how medicinal cannabis has enriched the lives of his ailing 11 year-old daughters.

This will challenge your views of medical marijuana. In this moving talk he discusses how his twin eleven year old daughters have been diagnosed with a rare disorder and how medical cannabis has helped give them relief.

Drugs used to treat patients with cancer, glaucoma and MS are all known to be highly toxic. The ratio of some drugs used in antineoplastic (cancer treatment) therapies have therapeutic ratios below 1.5:1. According to a study published in Journal of the American Medical Association in January 2012, cannabis does not impair lung function and can even increase lung capacity.

Researchers looking for risk factors of heart disease tested the lung function of 5,115 young adults over the course of 20 years. Tobacco smokers lost lung function over time, but cannabis users actually showed an increase in lung capacity.

It’s possible that the increased lung capacity maybe due to taking a deep breaths while inhaling the drug and not from a therapeutic chemical in the drug. The principal cannabinoids in the cannabis plant include tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) cannabidiol (CBD) and cannabinol (CBN).

THC is the primary psychoactive compound along with CBD, a non-psychoactive compound.

CBD may ease THC-induced anxiety or psychosis and their combination results in a more satisfying effect. The cannabis plant and its products consist of an enormous variety of chemicals.

Some of the 483 compounds identified are unique to cannabis, for example, the more than 60 cannabinoids, whereas the terpenes, with about 140 members forming the most abundant class, are widespread in the plant kingdom, the cannabis plant is literally an organic chemical factory.

In some cannabis preparations THC levels have risen radically by using a concentrating process such as butane hash oil that yields levels approaching 80% cannabinoid content.

Cannabis buds are the dried flowers of the female plant. Hashish is a compacted resin of the plant, both are usually ingested or smoked.

Cannabis oil, a solvent-extracted liquid, is consumed by smoking or vaporization but can also be used as a food additive. Oral ingestion from edibles is a slow absorption process but this does not result in a loss of pharmacological activity.

Oral ingestion delays the psychoactive effects by 30-90 minutes and peaks at 2-3 hours with effects lasting for longer periods of time (4-12 hours), depending on THC levels.

In smokers with chronic heavy (daily) cannabis use THC can be detected in their blood even after a month of sustained abstinence. This can have implications for individuals who undergo random drug testing in the work place.

The UK National health service reviewed the US national drug court institutes findings who estimate this can be anything from four days to two months depending on certain factors; read report.

Corrie Yelland cancer survivor

Cannabis is consumed by various means, with the most common being smoking, followed by vaporization, and then by the oral route. Cannabis oil is generally taken orally.

Cannabis oil for oral or rectal dosage is generally stored in syringes for ease of administration and storage.

When used to prevent nausea, factors such as speed of brain entry and challenges of swallowing whilst vomiting are important when considering inhaling cannabis smoke as a medicine.

Inhalation by smoking or vaporization releases maximal levels of THC into blood within minutes, peaking at 15-30 minutes, and decreasing within 2-3 hours. Increasingly, delivery of cannabis to the brain for medical or recreational use is via cannabis vaporization.

Respiratory disease is an important consideration when evaluating the safety and risks associated with cannabis smoking and the lower temperatures used in the vaporization of cannabis are far safer than smoking as it delivers fewer high molecular weight components than traditionally smoked cannabis.

Heating cannabis at moderate temperatures with a commercially available vaporizer produces a fine mist of cannabis vapors that can also be inhaled via electronic cigarettes, reducing exposure to pyrolytic byproducts. Vaporization also reduces the characteristic odor of cannabis smoke, enabling medical users to be more discreet in their administration.

Researchers have found cannabis oil helps fight Breast cancer, this cancer comprises 10.4% of all cancer incidence among women, making it the second most common type of non-skin cancer (after lung cancer).

It is the fifth most common cause of cancer death. In 2004, breast cancer caused 519,000 deaths worldwide (7% of cancer deaths; almost 1% of… read more

Cannabinoids are not the only products of the cannabis plant with medicinal properties. Cannabis terpenoids and flavonoids may also increase cerebral blood flow, enhance cortical activity, kill respiratory pathogens, and provide anti-inflammatory activity.

Cannabis terpenoids share a precursor to cannabinoids (e.g. limonene, myrcene, α-pinene, linalool), some of which are thought to be suitable for therapies or as facilitators of cannabinoid efficacy.

Evidence is needed to prove the validity of the widely held belief that whole plant cannabis is superior to isolated compounds because of synergism between various components but it does make sense that using the whole spectrum of cannabinoids is preferable to isolating specific components such as CBD. Preparations of cannabis oil generally contain a full cannabinoid profile.

Chronicling pot’s medical history from Biblical days through Victorian times, all in two minutes! Excerpt from the feature documentary, “What if Cannabis Cured Cancer”, by Len Richmond. In recent years the hemp plant has been proven to be anti inflammatory, anti spasmodic and anti bacterial. It can treat depression, traumatic stress syndrome, chronic pain, glaucoma, migraine,, multiple sclerosis, tourettes, nausea and a host of other ailments…

A recent, international survey of 31 countries investigated the medicinal use of cannabis from the United States, Germany, Canada, France, the Netherlands and Spain found that cannabis was used primarily for back pain (11.9%), sleeping disorders (6.9%), depression (6.7%), injury or accident-generated pain (6.2%), and multiple sclerosis (4.1%). With the exception of serious illness such as cancerous tumors these were the most common uses.

One study from the United Kingdom reported that approximately 14-18% of MS patients used cannabis for symptom relief from pain, spasticity and insomnia. In an animal model of MS, the neurodegeneration rate can be reduced by administration of the cannabinoid CB2, however, in tests THC failed to stop MS progression. Treatment with smoked cannabis resulted in a reduction in Ashworth scale ratings of spasticity, pain, and a significant reduction in cognitive function.

Learn how to cultivate medical marijuana. Full book available only here online for our readers

A study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal by Jody Corey-Bloom studied 30 multiple sclerosis patients with painful contractions in their muscles. These patients didn’t respond to other treatments, but after smoking cannabis for a few days they were in less pain. The THC binds to receptors in the nerves and muscles to relieve pain. Other studies suggest that the chemical also helps control the muscle spasms. Other types of muscle spasms respond well to cannabis use.

Pain can be classified as acute or chronic, or by site of origin (nociceptive) or nerves (neuropathic). Neuropathic pain occurs in various disease states (e.g. diabetes, HIV/AIDS, post-traumatic pain, cancer, excess alcohol use, rheumatoid arthritis etc.) and can be a persistent, debilitating condition.

HIV neuropathic pain affects 30% or more of HIV-infected individuals and some antiretroviral therapies can worsen the condition. Current analgesics and other medications offer incomplete pain relief when compared to cannabis use.

Many HIV-infected individuals report improvements in health from smoking cannabis. Of over 200 people with HIV/AIDS, 23% reported use of cannabis for pain relief in the previous month. In 2010, researchers at Harvard Medical School suggested that that some of the drug’s benefits may actually be from reduced anxiety, which would improve the smoker’s mood and act as a sedative in low doses.

Cannabis oil in capsules and syringes for oral administration

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common type of dementia, and is characterized by a number of debilitating symptoms, including cognitive decline, sleep disorders, and behavioral changes. Marijuana may be able to slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease, a study led by Kim Janda of the Scripps Research Institute suggests.

The 2006 study, published in the journal Molecular Pharmaceutics, found that THC, the active chemical in marijuana, slows the formation of amyloid plaques by blocking the enzyme in the brain that makes them.

These plaques are what kill brain cells and cause Alzheimer’s. There is therapeutic potential of cannabinoids in AD, especially for sedative effects or sleep disorders. Some positive benefits are relevant to the degenerative process.

Cannabis use can prevent epileptic seizures, a 2003 study showed. Robert J. DeLorenzo, of Virginia Commonwealth University, gave marijuana extract and synthetic marijuana to epileptic rats. The drugs rid the rats of the seizures for about 10 hours.

Cannabinoids like the active ingredients in marijuana, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), control seizures by binding to the brain cells responsible for controlling excitability and regulating relaxation. The findings were published in the Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics.

THC-like compounds made by the body increase the permeability of the intestines, allowing bacteria in. The plant-derived cannabinoids in marijuana block these body-cannabinoids, preventing this permeability and making the intestinal cells bond tighter together. In clinical tests patients reported after eight weeks of treatment and two weeks thereafter that complete remission was achieved.

A positive clinical response was observed in 10 of 11 subjects in the cannabis group. Three patients in the cannabis group were weaned from steroid dependency and subjects reported improved appetite and sleep with no significant side effects. Cannabis use produced a clinical, steroid-free benefit in patients.

Cannabis oil has been shown to help veterans suffering from PTSD. The Department of Health and Human Services recently signed off on a proposal to study marijuana’s potential as part of treatment for veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder. In New Mexico,

PTSD is the number one reason to be granted a license for medical marijuana, but this is the first time the U.S. government has approved a proposal that incorporates smoked or vaporized marijuana, which is currently classified by the government as a drug with no accepted medical applications.

Naturally occurring cannabinoids, similar to THC, help regulate the system that causes fear and anxiety in the body and brain. Interestingly, the high from THC is also associated with temporary impairments of memory.

While this may be seen as a drawback for some marijuana users, impaired memory is often therapeutic for those who struggle to forget painful memories, such as patients who suffer from PTSD. Recent studies confirm that oral doses of THC can help relieve a variety of PTSD-related symptoms including flashbacks, agitation and nightmares.

Glaucoma is an array of ocular disorders which leads to visual deficits or blindness. Cannabis can be used to treat and prevent the eye disease, which increases pressure in the eyeball, damaging the optic nerve and causing loss of vision.

Cannabis decreases the pressure inside the eye, according to the National Eye Institute, “Studies in the early 1970’s showed that marijuana, when smoked, lowered intraocular pressure (IOP) in people with normal pressure and those with glaucoma.”

Cannabis creams for topical application

These effects of the drug may slow the progression of the disease, preventing blindness. Likewise, after studies showed that smoking cannabis could reduce symptoms in glaucoma sufferers, scientists tried and failed again to develop a way to administer THC in eye drops.

The idea proved too complicated due to the fact that THC is not soluble in water. Whilst many glaucoma patients rely on medical cannabis to this day, The American Glaucoma Society maintains the position that its effects are too short-lived (lasting 3-4 hours) to be considered a viable treatment option.

Research from the University of Nottingham shows that cannabis may help protect the brain from damage caused by stroke, by reducing the size of the area affected by the stroke in rats, mice, and monkeys. This isn’t the only research that has shown neuroprotective effects from cannabis.

Some research shows that the plant may help protect the brain after other traumatic events, like concussions. There is some evidence that cannabis can help heal the brain after a concussion or other traumatic injury.

A recent study in the journal Cerebral Cortex showed that in mice, cannabis oil lessened the bruising of the brain and helped with healing mechanisms after a traumatic injury.

The medical benefits of cannabis continue to be debated globally, as they have been for nearly 150 years but the evidence tends to support the fact that cannabis has many therapeutic effects and its continued prohibition denies many patients a viable alternative to pharmaceutical drugs.

Read more about cannabinoids and cancer treatments here at cannabis cure.

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